night or any other.
Andrea sipped her drink and complimented him. “Good and icy.” She picked up a cocktail napkin from the table and put it under the glass. “Actually most of our little group think of Lammerty Island as just a good place to put up a vacation resort. Do you think that would be a good idea?”
“It might be the only way Lynn would ever make any money out of it.”
“Lots of people would come out of curiosity. More than would be frightened away, don’t you think?”
“No question about it. People are titillated by stories of ghosts and monsters, but they never really think they’d actually meet up with one. Here—or anywhere else for that matter.”
Andrea chuckled. “I suppose you’re right.” Her eyes lit up and she said, “You know what I’d really like to see as long as we’re here?”
“What’s that?”
“The remains of that ship, the Mary Eliza. I’ve always had a fascination with ghost ships. How about you?”
“I could do without the ghosts, but I’ve always been a frustrated sailor at heart. I’d like to see that ship myself. In fact, that’s one of the great mysteries of Lammerty Island. How the remains of the Mary Eliza have stayed intact—comparatively speaking—for all these decades. Especially when you consider the harsh weather and the frequent storms in this area. Of course, maybe it’s all been exaggerated. We may go out there and find nothing left but a few splinters.”
Andrea’s eyes were so bright one could almost see the lightbulb over her head. “Why don’t we take a walk out there and see if we can find it! Really! It’s not too dark out. There’s a full moon tonight anyway. We can get a couple of flashlights, take a look around.”
“Remember what John said.” He mimicked the lawyer’s voice. ” ‘Stay close to the house.’ We wouldn’t want to become the object of a search party.”
Andrea was not to be put off so easily. “Well, what are we supposed to do all night? It’s too early to go to bed, and frankly I think we’re all getting bored with each other’s company.” Ernie smirked, then laughed in agreement. “As long as there’s no quicksand and we stay near the shore, there shouldn’t be any problem. We’re not going to go into the woods or anything like that. We’ll stick straight to the shoreline and come right back if we don’t find anything.” She thought for a moment, then added, “Or even if we do.”
“Sounds good to me,” Ernie said. “Let me just finish my drink—”
“Do you think we should ask the others?”
“Do you want to?” Ernie hoped the answer was no.
“It would be the polite thing to do.”
Ernie nodded, not bothering to keep the disappointment off his face. “Let’s be polite then.”
They went back into the living room and told the rest of the party about their plans. No one seemed particularly enthused. John renewed his warning, but didn’t try to deter them. Gloria was tired; therefore, so was Jerry. Betty looked as if she might want to go, but sensed that three would definitely be a crowd, especially since no one else was interested. Anton muttered something about “wanting to read” and getting a “proper view” of the island during the daytime. And Cynthia, though she mulled it over in her mind for a minute, ultimately decided against joining them.
They got a flashlight from Everson and set out to explore the vast darkness of Lammerty Island.
PART TWO
Reverberations
Chapter 10
Everson stayed with his guests for about half an hour longer, making chitchat and pouring drinks. Everyone seemed a little tired; he most of all. Andrea and his cousin hadn’t fooled anyone with their talk of looking over the shoreline for the wreck of the Mary Eliza, He recognized “young love,” or at least “young sexual attraction,” when he saw it. Perhaps his cool, quiet cousin was a firebrand underneath, and he and the lovely psychic were already making love under the
Andrea sipped her drink and complimented him. “Good and icy.” She picked up a cocktail napkin from the table and put it under the glass. “Actually most of our little group think of Lammerty Island as just a good place to put up a vacation resort. Do you think that would be a good idea?”
“It might be the only way Lynn would ever make any money out of it.”
“Lots of people would come out of curiosity. More than would be frightened away, don’t you think?”
“No question about it. People are titillated by stories of ghosts and monsters, but they never really think they’d actually meet up with one. Here—or anywhere else for that matter.”
Andrea chuckled. “I suppose you’re right.” Her eyes lit up and she said, “You know what I’d really like to see as long as we’re here?”
“What’s that?”
“The remains of that ship, the Mary Eliza. I’ve always had a fascination with ghost ships. How about you?”
“I could do without the ghosts, but I’ve always been a frustrated sailor at heart. I’d like to see that ship myself. In fact, that’s one of the great mysteries of Lammerty Island. How the remains of the Mary Eliza have stayed intact—comparatively speaking—for all these decades. Especially when you consider the harsh weather and the frequent storms in this area. Of course, maybe it’s all been exaggerated. We may go out there and find nothing left but a few splinters.”
Andrea’s eyes were so bright one could almost see the lightbulb over her head. “Why don’t we take a walk out there and see if we can find it! Really! It’s not too dark out. There’s a full moon tonight anyway. We can get a couple of flashlights, take a look around.”
“Remember what John said.” He mimicked the lawyer’s voice. ” ‘Stay close to the house.’ We wouldn’t want to become the object of a search party.”
Andrea was not to be put off so easily. “Well, what are we supposed to do all night? It’s too early to go to bed, and frankly I think we’re all getting bored with each other’s company.” Ernie smirked, then laughed in agreement. “As long as there’s no quicksand and we stay near the shore, there shouldn’t be any problem. We’re not going to go into the woods or anything like that. We’ll stick straight to the shoreline and come right back if we don’t find anything.” She thought for a moment, then added, “Or even if we do.”
“Sounds good to me,” Ernie said. “Let me just finish my drink—”
“Do you think we should ask the others?”
“Do you want to?” Ernie hoped the answer was no.
“It would be the polite thing to do.”
Ernie nodded, not bothering to keep the disappointment off his face. “Let’s be polite then.”
They went back into the living room and told the rest of the party about their plans. No one seemed particularly enthused. John renewed his warning, but didn’t try to deter them. Gloria was tired; therefore, so was Jerry. Betty looked as if she might want to go, but sensed that three would definitely be a crowd, especially since no one else was interested. Anton muttered something about “wanting to read” and getting a “proper view” of the island during the daytime. And Cynthia, though she mulled it over in her mind for a minute, ultimately decided against joining them.
They got a flashlight from Everson and set out to explore the vast darkness of Lammerty Island.
PART TWO
Reverberations
Chapter 10
Everson stayed with his guests for about half an hour longer, making chitchat and pouring drinks. Everyone seemed a little tired; he most of all. Andrea and his cousin hadn’t fooled anyone with their talk of looking over the shoreline for the wreck of the Mary Eliza, He recognized “young love,” or at least “young sexual attraction,” when he saw it. Perhaps his cool, quiet cousin was a firebrand underneath, and he and the lovely psychic were already making love under the
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